Sportswear giant Gymshark has used social media and a dedicated group of athletes and artists to grow into a multi-million pound company with customers in 131 countries. Now the brand, whose ethos is based around building a thriving community and being ‘consistently future-conscious’, has turned to De Montfort University Leicester’s Contour Fashion students to see what they think Gymshark’s next line of sportswear could look like.
Led by Talent Director Ed Priestnall and his team, including DMU alumni Isla Gilbertson, Gymshark set final year students the task of bringing their visions to life for future lines of sportswear. A total of four students were chosen as winners and all of them have been invited to spend the day at Gymshark’s West Midlands headquarters to experience life at the world-leading sportswear brand.
Emma McNaughton
“We want to invest in new talent and placements, and working with DMU gives us the opportunity to understand what the next wave of creatives are proposing for the industry,” said Priestnall. “Coming to DMU and seeing the students’ work has been a great experience. I came here with a plan to offer a first, second and third place. No problem. But trying to whittle it down was incredibly difficult. The final pieces were very, very strong. There is no doubt this course is delivering some really exciting prospects.”
First prize went to Emma McNaughton whose concept was “24 hour active”, with garments designed for the commute to and from the gym and to be active in the gym. Joint second prize went to Jessica Basey, whose outfit was based on muscle compression and muscle performance, offering support around the biceps, chest and legs to combat fatigue, and Tara Newton, whose winning garment was inspired by a jungle theme and animal prints. Third place went to Heledd Davies whose garments were made out of recycled fishing nets and plastic.
